Kounde did not travel with Barcelona to Paris on Tuesday for the Champions League trip to PSG, and four days out from the first Clasico of the 2026-27 season there is little optimism around him at the club.

The injury was formally confirmed in a medical update released by the club on 18 October: “Jules Kounde has a left ankle sprain and will miss the PSG game.” His availability for the visit of Real Madrid, the club said, depended on how the ankle responded.

Three days on, it has not responded quickly enough. The French defender has missed two straight sessions, and according to reporting on Tuesday “there is great pessimism within the Barcelona coaching and medical staff that Kounde will be able to return in time to face Jose Mourinho’s side.”

A back line already thinning

Hansi Flick is also without Eric Garcia. The defender was taken off in the closing stages of the Betis win with a right thigh injury, and the club set his recovery at three to four weeks, ruling him out of the Clasico along with the subsequent fixtures against Alaves, Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid.

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Gerard Martin, nursing foot inflammation, is a more hopeful case. The problem is not structural, and he had been expected to be available for the PSG match depending on his response in training.

Vinicius serves the first game of his ban

On the Real Madrid side, Jose Mourinho will prepare for his first Clasico back in charge of the club without Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian was shown a straight red card against Villarreal earlier this month for pulling Nathan Saliba’s hair, and the Spanish federation’s disciplinary committee handed him a four-match ban: two games for violent conduct and two more for his reaction to the dismissal.

“Sorry to the team and the fans,” Vinicius wrote on social media after the match.

The suspension covers domestic competition only, so Vinicius remains available for the Champions League. In La Liga he will sit out the Clasico, Sevilla, Racing Santander and Valencia.

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Kick-off set for Sunday night at Camp Nou

Barcelona host Real Madrid on Sunday 25 October, with kick-off at 9pm local time at Camp Nou. Flick’s final decision on Kounde is not expected until the eve of the match.

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